On the eve of the U.S. House vote to repeal President Obama’s health care bill, Congressman Scott Tipton’s campaign manager slammed Democratic opponent Sal Pace for failing to take a clear stand on the issue, while Pace called the repeal vote “nothing more than an attempt to score partisan political points.”

Tipton, R-Cortez, voted against the bill commonly known as “Obamacare[3]” in 2010. He voted for repeal in January 2011 and plans to do so again tomorrow.

The vote is seen as a political response by Republicans to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling declaring the bill is constitutional, and is unlikely to go anywhere beyond the House since Democrats control the Senate and the bill’s main architect and promoter still is in the White House.

Tipton and Pace are squaring off to represent the 3rd Congressional District[4], which stretches from the Western Slope to much of southern Colorado, and is considered one of the most competitive races in the country.

In a press release, Tipton Campaign Manager Michael Fortney[5] said Tipton has been clear about how he stands on the bill, “which some experts estimate is a $400 billion tax on the middle class.” Meanwhile, Fortney said, Pace hasn’t given a yes or no answer on how he would have voted in 2010 or how he would vote on repeal if he is elected and another repeal vote occurs.

“(Pace) has signed petitions in support of healthcare reform and he is on record supporting universal healthcare,” Fortney said. “However, as a candidate for Congress, where if elected he will actually vote up or down on legislation, Sal Pace will not give voters a straight answer.”

In a separate email, a spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee noted previous instances in which Pace was quoted saying he supported Obamacare. It included a quote from a 2011 press release about efforts by Republicans in the General Assembly to pass an anti-Obamacare bill in which Pace said “The wisest decision we can make as a state is to give the act a chance to work here before we try to dismantle it.”

Asked by The Denver Post last week whether he would have supported the bill in 2010, Pace said “I don’t know,” and added that he has concerns with the bill’s mandate that Americans buy health insurance.

“I certainly am a strong advocate of expanding health care access,” said Pace, who has represented Pueblo in the state House since 2008. “I think it’s a moral issue. No one should die in poverty because of one illness. But I think it makes economic sense too.”

Pace noted that if someone has high cholesterol, in the long run it is less expensive for that person to get the primary care they need than to eventually have a heart attack and end up in the emergency room, where the cost of care is higher.

“It’s really basic math,” he added. “I believe we have to have a health care system that covers as many people as possible in order to bring down the costs. But I don’t think forcing people to buy insurance is the right answer.”

Asked about Republicans’ efforts to repeal and replace, Pace called it “more of the partisanship that’s crippling Washington right now.”

“Unfortunately, this is another sad example of how my opponent has gone Washington by continuing to follow party leadership instead of addressing the concerns of the people of our district.” he said.

Fortney, meanwhile, said Pace’s “I don’t know” doesn’t cut it.

“Its incredibly unfortunate that our opponent, Sal Pace, continues to talk around this subject and refuses to give voters a straight answer on this important issue,” he said.